Mentors

I had a great day today. I woke up to the sound of my phone ringing, but was super excited to see the 915 area code and know it was my mentor calling. A couple days ago, I mailed off a "happy new year" box of Trader Joe's goodies to the midwives and secretaries at Casa and she was calling to thank me. We talked for a good 45 minutes, catching up on birth stories and life. I told her about my current involvement in local politics and midwifery politics, and she said all kinds of nice things about me and offered encouragement. It's hard to think of a better way to be woken up.

I went to a monthly meeting of an organization that T and I started, called Southern Alameda County Birth Professionals. Along with a blog/web site I developed (http://fremontbirth.blogspot.com), it is part of the process of creating a birth resource center in this area. When we started the group, however, T and I were still consumed with finishing school, so even though our ideas were endless, our energy most definitely was not.

Now that we're licensed and it's a new year, we'll be able to get the group going. We already have plans to set up breastfeeding booths at the summer fairs and festivals and some members are working on putting together a birth film festival, which will probably be held in San Leandro. One of my new projects is starting an aspiring midwives support group. I am in the process of bringing together women who want to be midwives, even if they think the process will be years away. We'll be meeting monthly at my house to share experiences and advice about schools, apprenticeships, finances, and how to maintain sanity, identity, and a sense of humor.

I was really blessed with some really awesome mentoring during my experience, and it is my intent now to pay it forward and help bring in the next batch of midwives, with a special emphasis on women of color. I already have a few people signed up and we'll have our first meeting by the end of the month!